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Pillow Box Fill #3: Bathtime

(At long goddamn last.) (Thanks to @feanorinleatherpants and @waffilicious and everyone else who’s cheered this on along the way!)

There were a lot of overlapping requests that this one is filling:

Threetoo bathing. Tony washing his hair. Lots of good touching. :)

BUBBLE BATHSSssssssssssss

seconding bathing!

Threetoo getting a bath? Traumatic flashbacks optional.

Threetoo had a morning routine established by his sixth day in his master's penthouse. When he woke up he had a drink of water and gave some water to his plant, checking on its glossy green leaves and adjusting its position to catch as much morning sunlight as it could.

After that he climbed out of his pillow bed, and as soon as he crossed over the edge of the box JARVIS greeted him. "Good morning, 32257038. The time is 8:04 AM and today is Tuesday, the 30th of June. Mr. Stark is currently in his lab downstairs, but he will be returning to the penthouse shortly with breakfast."

Threetoo signed thank you to JARVIS and straightened up to his feet, stretching and testing his balance. He was feeling stronger, even though his weight kept dropping every day; the burns on his feet and back had healed, and the only bandages he had left were the ones on the stump of his left arm. Even those might be gone soon, and then...

Threetoo pushed that thought aside and walked easily to the bathroom. He relieved himself--still marveling a little at the painlessness of it all--and then started washing up, keeping an ear out for his master's return. So far his master had never come back before he was finished, or without JARVIS warning him, but it wouldn't do to be careless.

He brushed his teeth, shaved, and scrubbed all the places that tended to smell, then washed his hand over again for good measure. He lingered for another moment, studying himself in the mirror. He was still showing far too many bones, his belly concave like--like--there was an image just out of reach...

His head twinged a warning, and he focused on finger-combing his hair, checking whether it was getting too dirty to touch. His master had applied a nice-smelling spray that cleaned his hair without water, taking time to comb it out section by section, twice in the last six days. It had been two days since the last time.

He would probably be due to have his hair cleaned again soon, but maybe...

Threetoo touched the tape securing the bandage on his stump, and then he heard his master call out from the elevator, "Threetoo, I'm home!"

Threetoo dropped smoothly to his knees and crawled out of the bathroom to await his master in the usual place in his own room, right beside the shelf with his collar.

He had only been kneeling there for a moment when his master arrived, carrying a tray that smelled promisingly of breakfast.

"Hey, sweetheart." His master bent and kissed the top of his head, setting the tray on top of the dresser and pulling over the stool that let him sit comfortably with Threetoo at his feet. "Good morning, is it a good morning? What do you think?"

Threetoo smiled and nodded. "Good morning, sir."

"Excellent, glad to hear it, very good," his master rattled off, tapping one finger against Threetoo's chin. Threetoo tilted his face up, letting his master stroke his fingers lightly over Threetoo's throat and around the back of his neck. There was never any irritation for his master to find. His new red collar was so softly padded on the inside, Threetoo couldn't imagine how there ever would be, even if his master allowed him to wear it night and day.

"Okay, looking good here," his master murmured, picking up the red collar with its gold reward star. The gold tag with Threetoo's identification number on it made a happy little metallic sound as his master wrapped the collar around Threetoo's throat. His master fastened it swiftly and tucked his fingers in to check that it sat comfortably against Threetoo's throat.

"One of these days you're gonna start getting fat," his master promised him. "We're gonna have to let this thing out of a notch sooner or later."

Threetoo nodded agreeably and didn't look toward the breakfast tray.

"J," his master said. "You got Threetoo's weight for today?"

"One hundred fifteen--" Threetoo couldn't help tensing in anticipation, hope and dread all at once. "--point four pounds."

Threetoo's shoulders sagged, and his master shook his head, mussing Threetoo's hair with a gentle hand. "Hey, that's better--you're only down three-tenths today, we're getting there. You're stepping up in calories again today, you're gonna turn the tide soon."

Threetoo nodded obediently, though he knew that soon was still just the beginning. He was probably still at least two or three days away from even stopping losing weight, never mind starting to gain it back; he was still weeks, maybe months, from being ready to serve his master properly. Something quaked inside him, uneasy at the thought. He had to--he had to be useful, he had to serve or he was--was--

His master squeezed his shoulder. "You're doing exactly what I want you to be doing, sweetheart." The uneasiness evaporated, leaving Threetoo suddenly calm. What could he but calm when he was with his master? His master was smiling. "Resting, eating, getting strong, that's your job right now. Come on, let's have breakfast."

His master probably hadn't eaten any breakfast of his own before Threetoo woke up. JARVIS had said a few things that made it apparent to Threetoo that his master could be forgetful about such things with regard to himself--but when it came to Threetoo, his special project, he was meticulous. Threetoo was being useful after all, his mere existence reminding his master to eat.

He felt warm, like some secret, silent reward had been dispensed from inside him.

Threetoo ate cheesy eggs and pieces of fruit and toast from his master's hand. His master gave him a glass to drink from, and Threetoo sipped sweet juice between bites, watching as his master enjoyed his own breakfast. His master talked mostly to JARVIS while they ate, dictating messages and reviewing plans, so Threetoo didn't have to pay special attention to anything but eating his breakfast and sitting quietly between his master's knees. All the food was familiar at breakfast, so he didn't even have to rate anything; his master already knew that Threetoo liked everything he was being fed.

It was only when breakfast ended that Threetoo had to think again. His heart beat faster, anticipating. He knew what came after breakfast. He had been getting better in one way, at least.

His master wiped his own face and then Threetoo's, even though they were both tidy eaters and didn't need it. His master picked up the hand sanitizer from the shelf and cleaned his hands, and then he pulled over the kit from the dresser top, pushing the breakfast tray out of the way so he could open it there. "All right, bandage time, huh? Singular, bandage. This is the last one."

Threetoo nodded, dropping his gaze so that he wouldn't look as if he were begging. But he hoped--if his master remembered--if today was the day..

"And I think we talked about how, when you're all done with bandages, you're going to get a present to celebrate," his master murmured, wetting a cotton ball with stuff that made the tape on his bandages unstick painlessly. He wiped it over all the tape holding the bandage on his stump, then peeled it away.

Threetoo couldn't see the end of his stump without swinging it up to his face. While he was holding it still for his master, he could only watch his master's expression to know what was under the bandage.

His master was frowning at first, looking without touching. He picked up a square of clean gauze and wiped it over the end of Threetoo's stump, and it came away wet and shiny with ointment, but no blood or pus. His master wrapped his left hand around Threetoo's stump then, prodding gently along the healing wound with his right index finger. It didn't hurt, not even the tiniest twinge. His master glanced toward Threetoo's hand, but Threetoo held it flat and absolutely steady.

His master smiled like the sun coming into view at the edge of Threetoo's skylight, his bright brown eyes jumping up from Threetoo's stump to meet Threetoo's gaze. "There you go, baby. You have a scar instead of a wound--it's all closed."

Threetoo grinned widely but held himself still, his stump held in his master's grip, trying not to presume anything. His master might still decide that the scar was too new, that it should still be bandaged.

His master took another piece of gauze and dripped some alcohol onto it. It felt cool, but didn't sting at all, as his master used it to clean the end of his stump. When he finished, sitting back slightly to look at the unbandaged stump, Threetoo felt more naked with those few square inches exposed than he did about the rest of his unclothed body.

His master met his eyes again and nodded decisively. "Yep. No more bandages. That's healed. It needs to dry out and get used to the air now. So now you get a present--did you decide what to ask for?"

Threetoo licked his lips and nodded. His master had made an assortment of suggestions, and Threetoo had gone over some of them with JARVIS the day before, working out just what he wanted to ask for with JARVIS's assurance that his master would grant the request.

Threetoo swallowed and then said the words he had practiced. "I would like you to give me a bath, please, sir."

"Huh," his master said, smiling. "What do you know, I think we just got eight new bottles of bubble bath in the grocery delivery yesterday, so your timing is perfect."

Threetoo's mouth flashed into a big, wide smile. JARVIS had anticipated this moment without quite telling his master for him, smoothing the way for Threetoo and ensuring that he would ask for something his master would be pleased to give.

He caught a startled expression on his master's face for a second, his master's gaze dropping from Threetoo's eyes to his mouth before his master's smile also widened. Threetoo already knew that his master liked him to be happy, but every time it was confirmed it got easier to really be happy and to be sure that being happy was the right thing to do. He felt that rush of warmth inside again, the secret reward.

"J, please run a bath for Threetoo," his master said, and the sound of running water in the bathroom started up instantly. "Come on, let's go pick out what you're gonna smell like today."

Threetoo crawled eagerly after his master, out of the bedslave's room and back to the bathroom. The enormous tub was positioned under another skylight, and the lowest part was already filled with water. Threetoo could feel the heat of it rising up into the air, welcoming like a spot in the sun or in front of one of the fireplaces. His master waved him toward it while he went and rummaged through a cabinet, retrieving a stack of soft fluffy towels in assorted colors and patterns, plus a wire basket full of full plastic bottles. He brought all of this over to the edge of the bathtub where Threetoo was sitting on his heels, waiting.

"Go on, get--hang on." Threetoo froze at the contradicted order.

His master set everything down and bent over to unfasten his collar, setting it on the edge of the tub, ready to be put back on as soon as he was out. Without either his collar or his bandages, Threetoo felt sharply, newly naked--but he ought to be naked with his master. It was a privilege to show all of himself to his master, to offer himself for his master's pleasure.

Threetoo crawled down into the tub and settled in the lowest part, wiggling his toes underwater and enjoying the way warmth surrounded his ass, his genitals, rising up over his bony hips. His knees rising out of the water seemed to double in his vision for an instant--he had seen this before--and then time stuttered through a low warning throb of pain at the base of his skull, and Threetoo saw only his own knees, his master's bathtub.

He had nothing to remember. Nothing came before this. He was having his first bath now. His master was showing him special favor by allowing it.

His master settled on a higher ledge of the stepped tub with his feet bracketing Threetoo's body, his feet bare and pants rolled up nearly to his knees. A whole row of bottles and a basket full of other items were beside him, having appeared while Threetoo was lost in the stuttering of time. The water was up to Threetoo's belly, too.

His master began opening and sniffing the bottles. The third one, he held out to Threetoo. "How about this? Smells like something you'd like to eat."

Threetoo closed his eyes and breathed in, then opened them to grin up at his master. It did smell like something he'd like to eat; it smelled like hard candy, citrus-sweet. His master tried a few others, then offered him another option--sweet again, but softer, laden with sugar and vanilla like a cookie. One of the bottles made his master frown, capping it again decisively and rolling it toward the bathroom door without remarking on it; Threetoo saw U grab the bottle and whir quietly away with it.

The bottle after that met with his master's approval, and was offered to him. The smelled less obviously candied--apple and spice, a cleaner, sharper scent. "Orange, vanilla, or apple, sweetheart, what'll it be?"

His master positioned the three bottles in a little row, making it easy for Threetoo to point once he made his selection. After a moment he chose the sweetest and softest, extending his finger to almost touch the vanilla bottle.

"Beautiful, okay," his master assented. He picked something out of the basket and unwrapped it from a twist of paper, dropping what looked like a fistful of candies into the bath. They fizzed and foamed in the water, filling it with mounds of sweet-smelling bubbles that blanketed the water, hiding Threetoo from view as the water rose up his body.

He felt a twinge of worry at that--he was naked, he was to be seen--but his master was already soaping a cloth and beckoning Threetoo closer. "Let's have those feet, sweetheart.”

The worry dissolved in certainty. His master wanted to touch him, slippery-wet and sweet-smelling. It was only his first bath, but Threetoo knew how this worked. He smiled and lounged back in the water, raising one foot up in a graceful line.

His master snorted and smiled, and then began soaping Threetoo's foot and up his leg with a soft cloth. Threetoo let his eyes close, and his certainty spread through him, painless and steady. There would be no punishment-pain now, and time would proceed in perfect order, as long as he obeyed. As long as he pleased his master.

Threetoo scooted forward at a gentle tug on his foot, letting his master wash all the way up his thigh. His master was quiet, and Threetoo opened his eyes just enough to see the intent look on his master's face, quiet and focused on the task of cleaning him. Threetoo shut his eyes again, sensing that his master was about to look in his direction, and a second later his master pushed Threetoo's right foot back. Threetoo offered the left without being prompted, sinking into the pleasure of his master's touch and the certainty of doing right.

The soft rushing of water cut off, leaving Threetoo and his master in an all-new silence, broken by the lapping of water and their breathing.

"Kneel up," his master murmured, and Threetoo obeyed, spreading his knees wide for his master to wash between them. As always, his master washed to the tops of his thighs and his genitals with the same efficient gentleness as he washed Threetoo's feet. He motioned for Threetoo to turn his back, and Threetoo shuffled around on his knees, closing his eyes and bowing his head as his master washed his ass and then his back, pausing to soap the cloth again.

"Okay, you can sit." His master tapped the top of his shoulder, and Threetoo sank back into the warmth of the water and the froth of bubbles. His master, behind him, washed his stump and under it, then his right arm from fingertips to armpit. He washed Threetoo's neck and throat, and behind his ears, and then Threetoo heard an odd slithery metallic sound and carefully didn't look around to see what made it.

"Here, look." His master leaned forward a little, holding the object out for Threetoo to see without turning his head. It looked like a detachable showerhead; the metallic sound was from the flexible jointed-metal hose.

Threetoo looked sharply away from it the silver shine of it, flexing his right hand under the water and pushing up clouds of foam. He tried to see the individual iridescent bubbles, and not--anything else. What else should he see? There was nothing here but a bathtub and his master.

"It's okay, it's nice this way. You can rinse without putting your head underwater," his master explained. Threetoo didn't know why his master should care whether Threetoo had to put his head underwater; maybe it was a preference of his master's that he assumed everyone shared.

There was a gentle rush of warm water on his shoulder, giving him a moment to learn the sensation before it shifted to the back of his neck and then squirted behind each ear, making him shiver again though the water was perfectly warm.

"There, all clean," his master murmured. "Hair next, tip your head back for me."

Threetoo obeyed, letting his eyes almost close as the soft spray of water moved to his head, soaking his hair without spilling a drop onto his face. His master set down the sprayer--Threetoo could feel the warm disturbance in the water as it poured into the bath just behind his right elbow--and picked up a bottle. Threetoo smiled in anticipation at the sound of it uncapping, and then there was the cool heavy touch of shampoo on the crown of his head.

"Hmm, I think I spotted your favorite part of your present," his master murmured, as he gathered up Threetoo's hair with both hands, rubbing the shampoo around.

Threetoo licked his lips and whispered, "Thank you, sir."

"You're very welcome, sweetheart," his master murmured, rubbing strong fingers over his scalp, working the shampoo in everywhere.

Threetoo's eyes closed and he lost himself in his master's touch, his master's kind attention. It all fit into place now. It all made sense. No new rules to remember, no data to collect or report. This was easy.

His master took his time washing Threetoo's hair, then carefully rinsed it with the sprayer, running perfectly heated water through it. His hands were gentle, combing through Threetoo's wet hair to make sure every strand was rinsed, and then just playing the warm water over his head.

The slave opened his eyes and looked up at his master with a little smile. His master was just drawing it out now. The slave twisted under the water without shifting out from under it, but his master withdrew it as soon as he started to move.

The slave's smile widened as he put his hand down between his master's feet to steady himself, leaning into the inviting angle of his master's thighs. His master still had his pants on, but he had also refrained from getting the slave's face wet, so if he was very careful he could do this correctly. He nuzzled at the inside of his master's thigh, and his master said--

But he knew what to do; he knew what needed to happen next.

His master's voice rose, but the sound glanced off his perfect certainty. He knew what to do. Even if he was punished later--he couldn't avoid being punished. He would be honored to be punished. Now there was only the careful brushing of nose and lips toward his master's crotch, not letting his wet hair drip or his wet skin touch.

His master's hands were on him, and he pushed into the touch, pleased at the evidence that he was doing right. He gave a coy glance up as he brushed his lips against his goal, but--

His master--Sir--

He dropped his gaze and pushed, and his master pushed back hard, shoving him away. He fell under the surface of water, and the sudden silence of immersion made him aware that his master had been not just speaking to him but shouting. Threetoo squeezed his eyes shut against the belated pulse of pain and sick terror, scrabbling at the bottom of the tub with his one hand to stay underwater where his master had put him, to hide from whatever was going to happen when he came back up.

But his master's hands were on him again, hauling him out into the cool air, and he couldn't do anything but open his eyes. Time was stuttering on him, but he still saw, in horrible flashes, his master's wide eyes and pale, stricken face, his master's clothes wet from fishing him out of the tub.

"Jesus Christ, Threetoo," his master gasped, at some point, still standing in the water, still holding him half out of it. "Don't--don't do any of that ever again, please, okay?"

Threetoo nodded, because there was nothing he could do but obey the order, however vaguely worded, however little he was sure what he had done.

His head was throbbing with punishment-pain, and time skipped forward in dizzying jumps: he was out of the tub. He was wrapped in towels and lying on the floor while his master leaned over the sink, his hands braced on its surface and shoulders heaving. His master was carrying him.

He was in his room, lying on the floor, and his master was drying his hair, pausing only to take a sip of Scotch--something Threetoo had never seen or smelled on him in the last six days--from the glass on the floor beside him. He was in the pillow box, and his master was sitting on the floor just outside and the glass was empty.

His master was gone. The pain was gone. That jump in time felt different; time steadied now, and he realized that he must have slept. He lay still for a moment, tempted to burrow deeper into his pillows and blankets and hide from whatever further punishment awaited him.

His gaze fell on his plant. The light had shifted--it was afternoon now--and the plant was in shade. He sat up and moved it into the light, and then realized he was thirsty, and got himself some water from the tap.

He heard quiet footsteps approaching and looked toward the door just in time to see his master step into view. He stopped right on the threshold, leaning against the doorframe with his hands at his sides, saying nothing, giving no directions.

He was wearing different clothes, and looked tired, but not dangerously drunk. He looked like Threetoo's familiar master, who was good to him, who didn’t believe in punishing, only correcting.

Threetoo's chest ached with something he couldn't name, and he moved quickly, scrambling out of the pillow box and across the carpeted floor to kneel at his master's side. He pressed his face to the outside of his master's hip, careful not to put his face where he had before, when he--when he did the wrong thing that had seemed right. His master had told him not to do that again.

His master's hand settled on top of his head, keeping him there, assuring him that this was the right place for him to be. The ache in his chest didn't ease, exactly, but he thought he could grow used to it.

"From now on you take showers," his master said quietly, rubbing his fingers through Threetoo's dry hair. "And you are not doing any job but getting better until I tell you to. Got it?"

Threetoo nodded against his master's hip, and his master took his hand away.

"Okay. Come on, time for you to eat something. Gotta get that weight up, right?"

Threetoo straightened up and nodded, looking up at his master.

"And you need this, don't you?" His master drew the shiny red collar out of his pocket, with its gold star still attached.

Threetoo put his chin up and his master gently closed the collar around his throat, then ruffled his hair again. Threetoo caught the over-sweet smell of soft vanilla, and he felt a little sick as he crawled after his master, but he knew he would eat what he was given. It was his job to get well.

And if he was good enough, he would find a way to make his master smile again. Maybe that would make the ache inside him go away.

#traumatic flashbacks

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